Police fail to present Abba Kyari’s case to PSC for review

According to Austin Braimoh, the media representative on the Police Service Commission (PSC) board, the case of the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari has not been submitted to the PSC by the police authorities, preventing any subsequent steps in the matter. Braimoh shared this information during an interview on Friday.

Abba Kyari became embroiled in a controversy in July 2021 when he was implicated by Hushpuppi, also known as Raman Abbas. The latter and his group were apprehended by Dubai Police in June 2020 in the United Arab Emirates and subsequently extradited to the US for FBI prosecution.

FBI Special Agent Andrew Innocenti alleged that Hushpuppi involved Kyari in response to a threat from a co-conspirator named Chibuzo Vincent, who supposedly committed a $1.1 million fraud against a Qatari businessman.

Former Inspector General of Police Usman Baba initiated an “internal review of the allegations” against Abba Kyari in July 2021. In August 2021, Baba recommended Kyari’s immediate suspension. Subsequently, the Police Service Commission launched a new investigation into Kyari’s alleged activities in January 2022, and in February of the same year, they ordered further inquiries.

On February 14, 2022, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) issued a wanted notice for Kyari, accusing him of involvement in a drug cartel operating the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline. On that same day, Kyari and four others were apprehended by the police and handed over to the NDLEA for prosecution.

Braimoh highlighted that the specifics of Kyari’s alleged role in the case should have been formally submitted to the commission for appropriate review and action. He emphasized that as of now, the commission has not received any detailed information regarding his involvement.

He stated, “The police hierarchy has not forwarded his case to the commission… If his case comes to the commission, the commission will weigh them… Details of his involvement in the alleged crime ought to be before the commission for the commission to act on the areas he breached professional ethics while the court handles the criminal aspects.”

Despite this, efforts to gather a response from Force spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi on the matter were unsuccessful, as he did not answer calls or respond to text messages at the time of filing the report.